Asian currencies rise

The Singapore dollar and its Asian peers rose on Tuesday as talk of a second bailout for Greece bolstered the euro, but some emerging Asian currencies pared early gains after interventions by foreign exchange authorities. Many of the region's currencies failed to recover losses this month even though the euro hit a three-week peak against the dollar on a report that Germany could make concessions on efforts to put together more financial aid for Greece.
Emerging Asian units suffered from corrections and profit-taking in May along with the euro and commodities, after having enjoyed healthy gains during the first four months of the year. The Indian rupee lost 1.8 percent against the dollar this month and the Malaysian ringgit shed 1.6 percent, leading falls in the majority of regional currencies.
Among the winners, the Indonesian rupiah gained 0.3 percent and the Taiwan dollar rose 0.4 percent. Despite a rpeort that Germany may agree to more European Union aid for Greece, currency players are reluctant to bet on further rises in emerging Asian currencies in June, especially ahead of the possible end of QE2 by the US Federal Reserve and given signs that the global economic recovery may be slowing. The Singapore dollar broke through 1.2334 per the US dollar, the 61.8 percent Fibonacci retracement level on a firm euro. The city-state currency technically has room to strengthen, probably to 1.2280, the high of May 11. The won hit a three-week high against the dollar but gave up most of its rises on importers' demand for settlements and caution over possible dollar-buying intervention by the foreign exchange authorities.
The peso cut gains on dollar-short squeezes with the central bank's order on non-deliverable forwards (NDFs) and as it was spotted buying dollars. The Philippine central bank was buying dollar around 43.190 per dollar, dealers said. Earlier, the peso strengthened to 43.18, breaking through the 55-day moving average of 43.261 and 43.233, the 38.2 percent Fibonacci retracement level of its rising trend this month. The ringgit strengthened past the 55-day moving average again with the euro's rise. But the central bank was spotted buying dollar at 3.0050, dealers said.